Thinking It Through: An Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy 49202nd Edition

This book is a bit silly as it's quite lengthy without much content. However it looks great on my coffee table, so there's where all of the positivity for me comes from. Nice decoration!

I invariably find books on philosophy totally impenetrable, I only bought this only because I stayed with the Appiahs in Kumasi 57 years ago.It is a delight to read but not in any way superficial

It is my belief that this book was marketed very badly and that this contributes to the mixed reviews I find. The book, however, in and of itself is amazing. Appiah is a brilliant philosopher in his own right and has an ability to make complicated concepts lucid and clear without sacrificing the many facets of said concepts. There are parts in this book that are better than others (perhaps because I, myself, tend to drift towards certain branches of philosophy at the expense of others). I thought his chapters on metaphysics, science, and mind were particularly well done, whereas his chapter on philosophy of language was dizzying (though I believe this is due more to the nature of the beast than Appiah himself). Here's where the marketing problem comes in. This book is subtitled an Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy, and it is. However, what is left out is that this requires a COMMITMENT from the reader. I would recommend Sophie's World, Russell's flawed (though enlightening) History of Western Philosophy, or Will Durant's Story of Philosophy for the person with little background in philosophy who wants to start learning about philosophy (meaning if you took a class in college, you're exempt, but they really are still good books). However, keep in mind that, with the exception of this book, there are NO good, clear, beginner level intros to CONTEMPORARY analytic philosophy out there. There are a couple of Continental philosophy one's out there that are good but no Analytic ones (if you take a philosophy class in Britain or 95% of the universities in North America, you are studying Analytic philosophy). Appiah fills that gap. However, the subject matter is daunting. That's where the marketing error comes in. When I first picked up this book, I thought it was a quick read from the way it was advertised. Nope. It is philosophical boot camp (but in a good way). It's not the kind of book you finish and wonder why the author didn't talk about this or that more. Appiah leaves NO gaps and NO stone unturned in contemporary philosophy. When you finish this book you WILL be able to understand the lay of the land (the lay of the city to use Appiah's metaphor) of contemporary philosophy. So, bad news: you will need to prepare to commit to some serious, vein popping thinking (clear your calendar). The good news: when you finish this book you will realize that great big "Keep Out" sign that academic philosophers put up is nonsense and you will be able to step over that boundary with confidence. I think it's a fair trade off. Just remember what you're getting into.

This was a textbook for me.The writing is very confusing. Uses a lot of contradictory examples. Sometimes the writer clearly indicates his favourite while comparing different legendary philosophy writers.

I am about half way through and I am enjoying this book quite a bit. It is relatively easy to read compared to a text book. However, I would say one might be served to think about it along those lines. Occasionally, the introduction of technical terms occurs pretty quickly, and I've had trouble absorbing at more than a superficial level.Regardless, I strongly recommend the book to anyone interested in a deeper understanding of current affairs.

Philosophy is a subject that most people feel intrigued by but for many reasons most people never get involved with. I have been surrounded by philosophy students for many years and I have always wanted to learn more but was put off because I didn't know where to start, there is so much new language to learn and it just seems like an impenetrable academic subject into which would be foolish to venture unguided.'Thinking it Through' manages to start at the very beginning of the process of philosophy without dumbing down. Each of the nine chapters (covering Mind, Knowledge, Science, Morality, Politics, Law, Metaphysics and a chapter on Philosophy as a subject) begin with the discussion of a premise on which the rest of the chapter is based. In the chapter on the Mind the discussion revolves around whether a computer could ever be considered to have a mind. This initial question is then slowly broken down into the major philosophical arguments. Each is dealt with in turn, in a clear rational manner that is easy to understand. Different arguments are compared and evaluated. By the end of each chapter you have learnt so much and gone through so many arguments and discussions that you have almost forgotten what you read, but the chapter summary springs to the rescue and tells you exactly what you just learnt.Every new term used, and there are a lot of them, is highlighted in bold print, defined and can be found in the index for future reference. The author has the skill to explain all the ideas and arguments without losing track of the the fundemental purpose of the chapter.It is layed out clearly and openly and is extremely informative. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I think I may have learned more from it than from almost any book I have ever read. The authors intent in writing this book was to give the reading all the skills and knowledge to enable them to read original philosophical text and I certainly feel well prepared.A wonderful book for the beginner but a philosophy graduate friend of mine said that 'It covers all the main arguments that are discussed in a philosophy degree, and to be honest most philosphy graduates haven't taken away with them much more the the contents of this book'.

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I love philosophy for its rigor and its sweep. But it's very technical. This is the book that opened contemporary analytical philosophy up for me. It's beautifully written, deep, broad, rigorous, difficult but only when it needs to be.

One of the best books i have ever read. I don't usually give 5 stars rating but this book is exceptional. It's exceptional in its clarify and conciseness. Even an a beginner student of philosophy would find it very accessible but, at the same time, not oversimplified.The book looks from contemporary perspective on many philosophical questions as opposed to historical perspective on how those questions arose and evolved. At the same time it frequently mentions prominent philosophers of the past and their opinions on certain issues. The chapters of the book are arranged in such a way that while being relatively independent of each other, they build on previous knowledge.I would highly recommend this book to anybody interested in understanding outlines of Western Philosophy.